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(The) Willing and able

The Willing, a UK-based rugby club, celebrates a victory over the Atlanta Renegades on Friday at Daffin Park during the St. Patrick's Day Rugby Tournament. Hunter McRae/Savannah Morning News

Savannah Morning News

A.J. McFarlane, right, from Scotland plays for his team, The Willing, against the Atlanta Renegades on Friday at Daffin Park during the St. Patrick's Day Rugby Tournament. Hunter McRae/Savannah Morning News

Savannah Morning News

Damien "Skippy" Kelly, left, who is originally from Austrailia and who now lives in Scotland, helped his team, The Willing, create a score against the Atlanta Renegades on Friday at Daffin Park during the St. Patrick's Day Rugby Tournament. Hunter McRae/Savannah Morning News

Savannah Morning News

A.J. McFarlane, center, from Scotland plays for his team, The Willing, against the Atlanta Renegades on Friday at Daffin Park during the St. Patrick's Day Rugby Tournament. Hunter McRae/Savannah Morning News

For The Willing, rugby is not a sport. It's a way of life.

If you need more evidence than their tough, brutish style of play, take a look at the countries represented on the United Kingdom-based team. The Willing are made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, France and Australia, just to name a few.

To those countries, rugby is what football or baseball is here. So why then, with a perfectly good rugby tournament in closer Dublin, Ireland, this time of year, travel 3,000 miles to Savannah to take part in the St. Patrick's Day Rugby Tournament at Daffin Park?

"We have a lot of links in America," said The Willing's Johnny Rouche, who lives in London but is from Limerick, Ireland. "It's a little trip for us, a little holiday to meet some new people and hopefully add something to the tournament."

What The Willing have done is add a ton of credibility to the tournament. For a team to travel such a long distance from an area of the world where rugby is so popular speaks volumes for the kind of tournament the Savannah Shamrocks rugby club has put on for the past 29 years.

The Willing made their Savannah debut last year and decided to come back.

"I thought it was great," Savannah Shamrocks president and tournament director Steve Keller said. "We've had people come over from England to play with teams (in the past) and a lot of people come over here and play and then go home and talk about the tournament."

The Willing rebounded from a 1-2 showing in last year's tournament to record a 34-0 win over the University of Maryland in the first game Friday and a 41-0 win over A.R.S.E. in the second game.

Keller speculated that The Willing were upset about their record last year and came into this year's tournament with the intention of getting to the Grand Championship game, but Rouche said The Willing had no such advance plans.

"We came here to take part," Rouche said. "If we win a game, that's fantastic, but we're here to play rugby, we're here to enjoy the whole tournament, which has been fantastically organized, and if we win, we win."

The Willing aren't without what may be a familiar face at this year's tournament. Dave Claass moved to London shortly after graduating from the University of Georgia. He picked up the sport in his hometown of Atlanta, but chose American football in college and played punter and place-kicker for UGA from 1998-2002.

Since getting started in rugby, Claass has found the sport to be a bit more involved than just being brought out on the field on fourth downs.

"It's all-out 80 minutes," Claass said. "You've got to be running all the time, working out. It's a never-ending game."

The Willing and the rest of the 58 teams participating in this year's tournament will take today off for St. Patrick's Day festivities and play will resume with consolation and championship games starting at 9 a.m. Sunday morning and running through the afternoon.